Maddow's popularity is on the rise. Since her eponymous nightly show debuted in 2008, she pulls in nearly 1 million viewers nightly. "It's hard for me to know why someone watches me," she says, noting that her bosses' specifically asked her "not to be like everything else on TV. They really encouraged me to be quirky and opinionated. I don't fit in." She's the only openly gay television anchor, but

says doesn't use her show as a platform to advocate for gay rights or other social causes. "My influence extends only as far between me and the camera. I'm not trying to change things, I'm trying to cover them."

With perhaps more than a touch of irony, Kate Clinton describes herself as a “faith-based, tax-paying, family entertainer.” This description is an indicator of her wry humor, because in the traditional definition of “faith-based” and “family,” she is anything but. Ms. Clinton’s comedy is hard-hitting, political, full of word read »

The box that has housed the Wu-Tang Clan’s secret album for much of the past year recently arrived at MoMA PS1 in Queens, carried by a white-gloved porter and flanked by security guards–but it almost didn’t make it through customs. read »

Asia has a record number of billionaires on the new Forbes Billionaires List out yesterday, a sign of great prosperity. Yet many pillars of the Asian business landscape are now in their twilight years. Among them, Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, is 86.

What are the risks involved when great wealth and power pass from one generation to read »

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey was threatened by supporters of the Islamic State, raising the issue of how social media can be used both to liberate the oppressed and to spread fear and messages of terror. read »

In a year when growth in China’s e-commerce growth captured investor attention globally, an entrepreneur from more traditional industries — real estate and entertainment — leads a record 213 mainland Chinese on this year’s Forbes Billionaires List.

Wang Jianlin’s estimated wealth soared to $24.2 billion this year from $15.1 billion a read »